


Coffee Shops During Christmas

by heartofthejunk



Series: 30 Day Cheesy Tropes Challenge [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 30 Day Cheesy Tropes Challenge, M/M, Voltron, coffee shop AU, gay space nerds, gays in space, klance, writer!keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-27 17:30:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7627468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartofthejunk/pseuds/heartofthejunk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Keith was sure Lance could find one million ways to interrupt his writing process. One of those ways was by flirting with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coffee Shops During Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Klance fic! I hope I did them justice.

The _clink!_ of a mug and the screeching of a chair being dragged across the tile floor of the coffee shop Keith was sitting in was enough to annoy him on his already-disrupted morning. It was even worse that the person sitting across from him was the ever flirty, arrogant, and _insufferable_ Lance, another regular at the coffee shop. Ever since he had entered the shop on a whim, Lance had come back every day, always waiting to use a shitty pickup line on whoever was there. He was nothing but disruptive to Keith's writing process, which pissed him off to no end; and now, to think he would be sitting directly across from Keith? Even the thought made his blood boil. He hoped this was a nightmare. He looked up from his laptop screen for a second time and groaned audibly. Sadly, this wasn't some twisted dream. It was reality, and Keith knew he had to deal with it.

Lance smiled his frustratingly charming smiling. The mere act made Keith clench his teeth. "What's wrong pretty boy?" he asked, feigning obliviousness. Keith frowned. Pretty boy was Lance's favorite nickname for Keith and he absolutely _hated_ it. Lance said it so teasingly it sounded like a jeer. He hid his face behind his computer screen. Not satisfied with Keith's silence, Lance spoke up again. "Oh, are we not on speaking terms yet?"

Keith glanced up from his screen again. "When has that ever stopped you?" He shoved a mini muffin in his mouth angrily and turned his eyes back to the piece he was working on.

Lance shrugged. "Plenty of times. I can't catch a fish who won't bite."

Keith grunted with his mouth still full of muffin and rolled his eyes. _That's a disgusting philosophy_ , he thought bitterly. After a beat of silence, Keith finally asked, "Why are you sitting here anyway? There are several other tables that are perfectly good to sit it. There are probably more comfortable chair somewhere else. There are probably some people who'd actually pay attention and care about what you have to say. And why now, of all times? Is it to tease me more? Flirt with me, or whatever?" he spat accusingly.

Lance blinked. "Actually, no." He pointed to the line at the register. "Thanks to the new guy, Shiro, this place has been packed. Every other seat is taken." Keith looked in the direction Lance had pointed in and saw that he was right; the line was flowing out the door. "Damn his attractiveness," Lance muttered. If anyone else had said it, Keith might've laughed - but this was Lance, so he didn't.

Keith wouldn't have noticed the busy-ness if Lance hadn't said anything. He was always the first at the shop in the morning, never having to wait in line or search for a table. Of course, he'd noticed the new barista, but he wasn't infatuated like the many whispering and giggling customers in line. He honestly didn't really see the appeal; maybe Shiro just wasn't his type. He took a sip of his large hot chocolate and sighed. He went back to typing on his laptop.

Lance seemed to be growing more and more uncomfortable with the silence at the table. "What are you writing?" he asked curiously. He held his coffee with two hands, his bagel with cream cheese resting on a napkin on the table. Keith had an odd urge to knock it off but didn't give in to the idea.

Keith rolled his eyes again and looked at Lance over his computer screen. "Why do you care?"

"I'm just trying to make conversation," Lance insisted, but Keith figured that wasn't it. Lance seemed genuinely interested and it bothered Keith. He wasn't exactly used to talking to anyone, as he'd been quite the loner in high school. Writing was his passion and overtook any longing for friends he'd ever had. 

"Try and make conversation with someone else, would you?" Keith said through grinding teeth. He took a hair tie from his wrist and stuck it between his teeth, leaning his head back to tie up his hair. Due to the increasing amount of people in the coffee shop, the temperature had risen considerably. Pulling his hair back was the only known solution to this problem.

Keith glanced to where Lance was sitting and was surprised (and slightly annoyed) to see he was still there. He thought his cold attitude would be enough to scare the boy away but his efforts came to no avail. What was even odder was that Lance was staring at him, mouth agape. Keith raised an eyebrow. "You're going to catch flies," he chided around the hair tie in his mouth. Lance clamped his mouth shut. Keith worked his hands through his hair to smooth any bumps in it and grabbed the hair tie from his mouth to secure his low ponytail.

"Stupid fucking mullet," Lance murmured. He picked up his coffee and the remaining half of his bagel and strutted out the door. Keith looked over to his empty seat and smiled. _Finally,_  he thought. _I can write in peace._

☾ _  
_

"You'd think the hype would be over now," Lance murmured as a greeting, setting his things down at Keith's table like it was natural - as if he hadn't started sitting here only three weeks ago. Keith had slowly grown less bothered by Lance's company. In fact, you'd never catch him say it, but he was starting to expect Lance to sit at his table. It was so routine now; Keith almost awaited every morning when Lance would step into line. Lance had started to arrive earlier, he'd noted.

Keith shook his head. "I think some people just come to ogle at him because they think he's still single." 

Lance gasped. "Who is he dating?" he asked incredulously.

"Matt, you know, Pidge's brother?" Keith said, looking at Lance expectantly. 

Lance frowned. "Damn, and I hadn't even used a pickup line on him."

Keith frowned. "Is flirting all you think about it?" he asked. This seemed impossible for Keith himself, but it seemed this could be _very_  true for Lance.

"That and you, pretty boy," Lance winked and grinned cheekily. Keith scoffed and Lance laughed. "You gotta admit, that was good!" he exclaimed. His words said that the flirting was a joke but the light blush on his cheeks that Keith had never seen before said otherwise. Keith kept that to himself, as well as the thoughts of how nice Lance looked when he _really_  laughed, not a fake one like the one he used around some girl he wanted to impress. Keith tried to keep the grin off of his face, but a small smile escaped his lips. One Lance had stopped laughing, he matched Keith's small smile. "I knew you liked it."

"I didn't," Keith argued, but his smile and the pink dusting on his cheeks gave him away. Lance didn't say a word, only smirked and took a sip from his coffee. Keith ducked behind his laptop screen, for the first time in a long time writing about brown eyes.

☾

Keith was utterly distraught. He had woken up late because he had fallen asleep _way_ later than normal. It wasn't his fault; there was a Harry Potter marathon on. He couldn't just _not_  watch it. _It was a Harry Potter marathon._ But this caused his current predicament. Due to the coffee shop's new popularity, he doubted his table would be empty by the time he got there. He frowned, realizing halfway there he had forgotten his laptop. He supposed he wouldn't be staying today anyway; after all, if his table was taken, where was he supposed to sit? He refused to sit anywhere else, being the picky person he was. 

The worst part was that it was winter, his favorite time to sit in the cafe. He liked to watch the people pass in heavy coats and he liked watching the flakes of snow falling from the sky. He trudged through the snow piles in his winter boots, frowning underneath his scarf. He hoped by some odd chance that his table would be free.

When he entered the shop, he frowned. Much to his unhappiness, his table was taken. By whom, he had no idea. The person must've gotten up because only their jacket and a bagel with cream cheese were at the table. _That's Lance's food order_ , he thought absently. He took his place in line, pulling out his phone and scrolling through his writing blog. Out of nowhere, he heard, "Keith! I saved our table!"

Keith knew right away who the voice belonged to. He turned to where Lance was standing in at Keith's table, which Lance had called theirs. Since when was Keith sharing? He let Lance sit there, but only because there were no other seats. He walked over to where Lance was standing because the line wasn't very long today. He could easily go back into line to grab his spot at the end.

Keith slid his coat off of his arms and slung it on the back of his chair. Lance set down two cups and a pastry bag. "These are for you," he said, thrusting the bag and one of the cups towards Keith. He took a nervous sip of his coffee, his hands shaking a bit.

"What is it?" Keith asked suspiciously. "Is it poisoned?" He narrowed his eyes at Lance.

Lance put down his coffee and held his hands up innocently. "It isn't poisoned. It's a hot chocolate with two pumps of hazelnut and a bag of zucchini-chocolate chip mini muffins. Your regular, right?" He searched Keith's face for a moment, his eyes hopeful.

Keith's eyes were wide. "That... That's my regular." He felt the cup and noted it was still warm. "How'd you know?" he asked quietly.

Lance grinned. "You'd think after sitting with you for a while I'd know your order by heart." He laughed, breaths like bells tinkling. "By the way, you look good with snow in your hair."

Keith rolled his eyes, but now he smiled as he did instead of scowling. "Whatever. How much do I owe you?" he asked, fishing for his wallet in his jacket pockets.

"Free of charge. Merry Christmas, pretty boy," Lance teased. Keith hadn't heard that nickname in a while. It didn't sound like an insult anymore; it sort of felt like a compliment. He shook his head and smiled, but said nothing more about it.

The next day, Keith was at the coffee shop at his usual time. To get him back, Keith bought Lance's order for him. Shiro raised his eyebrow and smirked when Keith completed the second half of his order but stayed quiet. "Ordering for your boyfriend like he did for you yesterday?" Shiro asked casually, keeping his eyes on the coffee maker.

Keith almost choked on his spit. "I- what are you talking about?"

Shiro sighed. "You can't be serious. You two aren't dating?"

Keith's eyes sparked with realization. "Lance? And _me_? Me and Lance? No, nope, nuh uh." He shook his head lightly.

"You sit with each other every day, you've memorized each others' orders, and you look at each other with a light I haven't seen between anyone but lovers," Shiro informed him, handing him the coffee. Keith placed it on the counter in front of him. 

"We only sit together because there aren't any other open tables," Keith argued.

Shiro laughed. "So that's the excuse. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but less people have been coming in lately. There are plenty of free tables, you two just always sit together. Besides, Lance comes earlier when you're the only one here. Couldn't he sit at another table?"

Keith hadn't thought about that. He supposed Shiro was right. Keith blushed at the thought that Lance now chose to sit with him. Shiro put his hot chocolate on the counter along with the bagel and mini muffins and smiled knowingly. His eyes followed Keith to his table. Not even five minutes later, Lance bounded into the shop. "'Morning, pretty boy!" He smiled at Keith and Shiro could see that Keith physically brightened when Lance greeted him. 

Lance took his seat. "You got my order for me? How sweet," he cooed. 

Shiro just shook his head at the younger boys. How oblivious they were.

☾

After a week of wondering, Keith finally got the guts to ask, "Lance, why don't you flirt with strangers anymore?"

Lance looked mildly surprised. "I, uh, sorta like someone..." he trailed off, swallowing thickly. He looked down at his hands, which were ringed around his coffee cup.

Keith was a bit shocked but didn't show it. "So now you only flirt with people you know?"

Lance paused. "No. I only flirt with the guy I like."

Keith's interest piqued at the pronoun _guy_. He then thought about Lance's words and was confused. "But you flirt with me all the time..?"

Lance's eyes widened. "I- I gotta go. Family emergency. See you tomorrow!" he yelped, getting up and rushing out the door. Keith watched him leave, feeling awfully conflicted.

"I hate to say it, but I told you so," Shiro whispered as he walked by with a broom and dustpan. Keith blinked. _Does Lance actually like me?_  he thought. And then, _Why do I want him to? Do_ I _like_ him? He walked home early, not knowing what to do with these new-found feelings. Of course, they were always there, but Keith hadn't truly discovered them until now.

He lay in his bed that night, wondering what he did to deserve this.

☾

The next week was a bit awkward. Lance was quieter than normal, Keith was back to his quiet self, and both boys knew exactly what was happening. Keith knew Lance liked him and Lance knew Keith knew. What Lance _didn't_  know was that Keith felt the same way and just had no idea how to say it.

It was a few days before Christmas and Keith had formulated the perfect plan. At least, he hoped it was perfect. Maybe it would totally backfire and blow up in his face. At this point he had no idea what would happen or how Lance would respond but he supposed he wouldn't know unless he tried. 

"Lance," Keith said quietly. Lance looked up from his phone, a quarter of a bagel hanging out of his mouth. His eyes urged Keith on. "What are your plans for Christmas?" Keith asked, nerves almost choking him.

Lance raised his eyebrows quizzically. "I wasn't planning on doing anything because my family will be on vacation. Why?"

"Well," Keith twisted his hands together underneath the table. "I don't have any plans either. So I was wondering if you wanted to stay over Christmas eve? It won't be a huge celebration, probably just Chinese take-out and Christmas movies. Maybe we could decorate the little tree that's been sitting in my closet? I don't know. But..." He looked down anxiously at his bag of mini muffins.

Lance's face broke into a grin. "That sounds a lot better than sitting at home alone for Christmas," he replied. "I'll accept your invitation."

Keith let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Oh. Cool. Okay." He could feel his face grow warm despite the cold temperatures outside.

Shiro grinned, having overheard much of the exchange. _Finally!_  he thought, smiling to himself.

**Author's Note:**

> If you'd like to scream with me about Voltron go to my tumblr (ocean-rising) or wattpad (-oceanrising)


End file.
